Thought I'd start this off since pre season testing has begun and we are 6weeks away from The Australian GP.

2014 is bringing a host of new changes to the Formula and good or bad it will hopefully shake up the status quo of runaway races.

First reg change that deserves mentioning is the powerplant:

1.6L Turbo V6 with ERS unit with a combined power output of a approximate 850bhp. Personally I'm not a big fan of the idea but I also didn't like the change from V10 to V8 so I'll have to hold judgement until the opening race. My concern is that the drama of the noise of F1 will be lost....

The ERS units are something to discuss but at this point I don't know much other than it harvests brake and exhaust heat energy to make a stored 250bhp and the ability for more usage during a lap. I'll be reading more at Racecar Engineering or F1tech soon....

I will have more to discuss about the new regs (especially about the butt ugly front ends of certain manufacturers) but as a teaser I can report that RedBull has only been able to get 13 laps over 3 days of preseason testing. They have been having serious issues with overheating and ERS storage failures...:D

TheSteve

2014.01.30, 01:16 PM

I'll certainly be watching this season but if I had my way there would be in race refueling, at least two tire suppliers and a "run anything you like" as long it fit in a virtual box and met required safety regs.

cowboysir

2014.01.30, 01:34 PM

I'll certainly be watching this season but if I had my way there would be in race refueling, at least two tire suppliers and a "run anything you like" as long it fit in a virtual box and met required safety regs.

What...and bring real strategy back to the Formula?!:D

a 2014 race regulation brings new fuel load requirements: cars will have a new maximum of 100KG of fuel (instead of 140KG from previous formula).

Think the old races were about fuel saving and driving to a lap delta? You ain't seen nothing yet....:mad:

TheSteve

2014.01.30, 02:12 PM

It might just be all kinds of lame. Pretty sure even the drivers would like to race using speed and skill, perhaps some day it will be re-introduced to the sport.

imxlr8ed

2014.01.30, 06:50 PM

"run anything you like" as long it fit in a virtual box and met required safety regs.

Bing Bing Bing!!!

And there we have a winner!!!

I understand that there is great risk involved in racing but when I think back to the spirit of the old days of racing, and how those guys pushed themselves to the near edge to produce their wins... it was just incredible!

I saw an in-car video of an old race from the 70s with a guy driving some monster old F1 type car, in the rain, on a very tight road course... and to watch the guy push it out to every wall, sideways most of the time and standing on the throttle like death wasn't mere inches away from that flimsy fiberglass chassis just had me smiling ear to ear thinking of how advanced that guy's mindset must have been to stay in control of of his universe and not die from a panic attack everytime the thing slipped out at those speeds... man! :D

I do not want to see drivers smashed up all over the track and meat wagons doing cleanup all the time, but I just think it goes against advancement to keep everything in a safe little box. Chaos is the best educator in my opinion.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."

Hunter S. Thompson

EMU

2014.01.30, 09:57 PM

I don't so much mind the change in motor, and understand the change in aero package... to try to reduce the dirty air behind the car to allow another car to follow more closely.

Installing the exhaust on the rear top side to prevent any blown diffusors...

Adrian Newey is by far the best aerodynamics engineer in F1! But Red Bull have had quite some electronic gremlins in the past with KERS, and with ERS being more substantial, if they have similar issues, it will mean that they wont win the race... or even podium... since there is a considerably larger percentage of power from ERS, and you can use it longer. All moving more to hybrid technology...

F1 is at a point where it is trying to showcase technology, rather than have racers take the gloves off and really duke it out on the track. Pretty soon they may just stagger the starts and have everyone race against the clock as not to have them anywhere near anyone else, and a pass for position will be virtual, so if they come up behind the car ahead, the blue flag will get them by.

Drivers like Alonso, Hamilton and Raikonnen have been struggling, because they are FAST drivers. They want to drive as fast as they can as long as the tires can last. In general, since the fueling was taken out of racing, these drivers have been replaced at the front with the ones that are more efficient.

Whether Vettels speed is from the car, or from his driving... He is efficient, and fast, at the same time. That cannot be doubted. He is THE driver of this style of racing. If refueling were still in effect, he may still be able to win against the fast guys at their fastest as well... He has shown the speed and pace to be at the front in all sorts of situations. Because of this, I want to see Red Bull continue with their ERS troubles... at least for the first few races to see if he can rise to win instead of running away from the start of the season with nobody in his rear view. Im all about the underdog in racing, at least most of the time.

I do like the loss in aero, I feel that it will lead to better racing, and more risk required to push the car to the absolute limit. I am sure that the top teams will adjust quickly, but there will be a few less complex tricks that they can do, so the gap between midfield and the front may shrink. At least in the beginning of the season.

Maldonado on Lotus is a big disappointment for me. Massa would have been a MUCH better option, despite his struggles with Ferrari. I just don't see Maldonado being much of a setup driver, which is something that Lotus needs. Kimi wasn't either, but he was always fast regardless what the setup is... Grosjean I feel is a decent setup driver, and he showed that when they started to setup the car for him, he kept it on the podium.

Alonso will lead setup on Ferrari, but Kimi may be just as fast if not faster??? That is probably what I want to see most. Which will lead the team on the track. This could lead to another McLaren incident when Alonso and Hamilton were teammates.

Its good to see that Williams picked up Massa. His experience alone will add depth to the team. And the reduction in pressure by not being on Ferrari will have to be seen whether it helps or hurts his on track performance.

I felt that it was a little too soon for such big changes in the regs, but if your going to change the motor, might as well change everything at the same time. Sure is cost saving :rolleyes:

NoBrainer

2014.01.31, 03:09 AM

as always, I'm looking forward to the F1 season.
I just think it's to much politics and money involved in it to ever become what is was.
To much fancy helping tools to drive the car. But I love racing so.
And all of them are doing it.

cowboysir

2014.01.31, 01:05 PM

EMU, I have to agree with you on some of your driver assessments:

Lotus has dropped the driver ball by focussing entirely too much on sponsorship money. In my view Maldonado is not a good enough driver for what is a top 4 team but the focus on budgets has made them choose the best of a tough situation. I wonder if maldonado's money helped them pay their outstanding payroll issues with Kimi Raikkonnen.

I agree entirely with your view of Felipe Massa. I've always had a bias for the "almost champ 2008" and I'm happy to see Williams were able to look past the treatment Ferrari gave their "#2" and hired a driver that had enough ability to be spotted by Schumacher and chosen to be his rear gunner once Rubens moved on. I'm happy to report that today in Jerez testing Massa posted most laps and fastest time in mixed weather conditions.

I will look forward to the Alonso/Raikonnen teaming...contrary to popular belief it wasn't the friction between Alonso and Hamilton that was McLaren's issue but the friction between Alonso and Ron Dennis (principal of McLaren) that was at core of the issue. alonso's view of being hired as #1 was shattered by Dennis' promotion/favoritism of a rookie (however good that rookie was)was a huge slap in the face. I believe that Ferrari can manage 2 supreme drivers better and the proof will come during the season. My hope that as the season will progress we will see an understanding by professionals on who to focus on for the drivers championship and keeping both drivers scoring for the constructors.

Now for a bit of a laugh...the designs of the F1 2014 nose/front wing configuration:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25946895

So the goal of the FIA with the new reg was to introduce less chance of wind scooping under the car in an accident and having a aero induced "flyaway flip" like Webber had in 2012(?) in a crash with Kovaleinen. They introduced a new front of nose height to avoid this "wind scoop" type of reaction.

Quite a few of the teams noticed that there mustnt have been any nose width reg so have found an interesting way of maintaining under air (thereby maintaining positive airflow under the car and keeping a slight floor "ground effect")

Two things have happened due to this reg:

1. A lot of the cars look completely ridiculous! F1 Journalists have introduced some seriously hilarious nicknames/monikers for some F1 teams chassis and I can't repeat some of them in polite company.:D Kudo's to Ferrari and Mercedes for starting the season with a relatively "normal" looking nose and the "female sex toy" award is won by McLaren....seeing that one gave me the best laugh of all!

2. While the possibility of an aero induced "flip" might be reduced (by how much since some of the noses are reallllyyyy narrow rmains to be seen) I think the danger of a rear end collision resulting the rear car to drive under the front car is highly likely.

I'll have some other interesting aero discussions in the near future...;)

One quick edit: How awesome is that Marussia's new car is labeled "MR03"?!

EMU

2014.01.31, 01:21 PM

I just noticed that the Marussia is called the MR03... That is great!!!

This season will be an interesting one to watch :p Especially if anyone rear ends another car. It would be interesting to see what happens. I think the regs for nose height were changed to prevent cars from driving over other cars as easily... since the nose could easily have taken a drivers head off. The lower nose should contact the body of the car, and not lift the front end as much. We will see.

imxlr8ed

2014.02.01, 01:44 AM

Ferrari is now going after Dyson's business now and this was the best way they could advertise their new dustbuster...

This has shown that Mercedes may have come up with a great powerplant for their teams.

RedBull had different overheating issues today and only posted 11 laps:D

Ferrari had minor issues with an oil leak that cut testing for them as well:(

Two more days to go and less than 3 weeks to the season start.

NoBrainer

2014.02.20, 04:27 AM

are you on site watching?

I like the new sounds in F1.
But the new nose is not as good to watch, but I probably get used to it soon.
Looking forward to this season.

I'm not a fan of a car, person or team, so this season will be exciting to see what happens.
I like F1, but hope the regulations and tires won't ruin the sport.

kyoshosan

2014.02.20, 10:13 AM

Martini is coming back to F1. I always loved the Martini cars. Too bad the nose keeps getting weird every year. They should have a rule saying, if it doesn't look good, it's not allowed :)

cowboysir

2014.02.20, 07:13 PM

So I don't have a full results sheet from today's test session but a few important tidbits of info:

RBR were able to post a race distance today (59 laps) with no major issues.

Williams out in 116 laps today. Almost 2 full race distance with no major concerns.

Ferrari were able to get some key systems checks and ERS/rear brake balance symbiosis...59 laps.

McLaren posted fastest lap today showing again that the Merc powerplant will be a tough rival again this year.

Force India/Mercedes posted second fastest (which was 1.5sec back from Magnussen).

Sauber has had troubles with their rear brake by wire and its interface with the ERS system. As it stands the brake feel isn't as balanced due to the various stages of harvesting. Time will tell how they will resolve it in car before the Aus GP.

One more day to go....

cowboysir

2014.02.22, 08:44 AM

Day 3:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gukPXUm-TvI&feature=youtu.be#

Turns out there's a day 4 happening...morning results have had Rosberg fastest and Renault powered teams having epic issues. I'll get more results by the days end.

TheSteve

2014.02.22, 02:51 PM

Don't you wish there was a race tomorrow? It is only a matter of time until redbull has all ducks in a row but I'd like to see them suffer a little until then.

cowboysir

2014.02.22, 03:27 PM

21 days to go until Australia...I predict at least 1/3rd of the field doesn't finish. :D

It's a sad state of affairs when that looks likely. I wonder if the ERS failures will cause engine detonations (being so closely interlinked) and I wonder therefore how hard it will be to complete the season on the allotted 4 engines:eek:

Too many changes too fast with regs that don't allow for serious testing (7 total track days + 100km of "photo" work is laughable in a new formula season) and the net result is a slow car that will likely break down.

cowboysir

2014.02.27, 10:05 AM

So turns out I goofed...there is testing in Bahrain this week.

Read a funny article today about the relative pace of the field of cars:

Guess they'll avoid talking about the 107 percent rule until RedBull gets up to pace:D

According to test data, only 14 of 22 cars wouldn't make the Aus GP starting grid based on the 107 percent rule.

Crazy, right?

cowboysir

2014.02.28, 09:37 AM

From Autosport.com:

Sergio Perez again set the pace for Force India, as the second day of the final pre-season Formula 1 test got underway in Bahrain.

The Mexican, who went fastest on Thursday in what he declared as his first proper day of testing in the VJM07, leapt straight to the top of the times with his first flying lap and ensured he stayed there with another quick effort around an hour before the lunch break.

Fernando Alonso went second fastest for Ferrari, less than a tenth adrift of the Force India. The double world champion clocked up more than 40 laps as the Scuderia seeks to catch up to the pacesetting Mercedes cars.

The morning's running was interrupted by two red flags, both caused by Mercedes-powered cars.

Lewis Hamilton brought out the first by going off with just over an hour gone, but went on to set the fifth fastest time and rack up more laps than anyone after his Mercedes was returned to the pits and cleared of gravel.

McLaren's Jenson Button was the other culprit. The MP4-29, which went third fastest in the 2009 world champion's hands, did not appear again after losing drive around two and a half hours into the session.

Not much was seen of Daniel Ricciardo either. He completed the fewest laps of anyone (15) as world champion team Red Bull's struggles continued.

The Australian, who on Thursday admitted his team has "not been up to scratch" so far in pre-season, set the ninth fastest time but was nearly three seconds adrift of his best from day one, and covered half the distance managed by Jean-Eric Vergne for sister team Toro Rosso.

Jules Bianchi continued Marussia's promising start to this final test, following the IT-related nightmare it endured last week, by clocking over 30 laps and setting the fourth fastest time.

Felipe Massa took over the Williams FW36 from Valtteri Bottas and went sixth fastest as the team switched focus from long runs to set-up and aero performance work.

Pastor Maldonado endured another difficult session in the 'twin-tusk' Lotus E22. The Venezuelan's running was curtailed early by an exhaust problem on day one and he has completed just 24 laps so far on day two after the old one was re-fitted.

Caterham suffered another significant delay as new parts turned up late and had to be fitted during the early part of the session.

Marcus Ericsson took over driving duties from Kamui Kobayashi and took up residence at the bottom of the timesheet, three quarters of a second behind Maldonado's Lotus.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps

1. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m35.570s 33

2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.634s +0.064s 45

3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.901s +1.331s 20

4. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m38.198s +2.628s 33

5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m39.041s +3.471s 61

6. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m39.323s +3.753s 44

7. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m39.756s +4.186s 30

8. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.428s +4.858s 41

9. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m40.867s +5.297s 15

10. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m41.762s +6.192s 24

11. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m42.516s +6.946s 22

AutoSport - Ben Anderson - 2/28/2014, 2:51 AM

cowboysir

2014.02.28, 12:30 PM

I'm starting to focus most of my news from Autosport.com:

By Jonathan Noble Friday, February 28th 2014, 15:28 GMT

Formula 1 teams have approved plans to tweak the qualifying format for 2014 in a bid to spice up the spectacle of Q3.

As AUTOSPORT revealed earlier this month, F1 team managers were called to a meeting with the FIA in Bahrain last week to discuss ideas to improve qualifying.

The meeting was put together because of concerns that too many drivers were electing to sit out the final qualifying session in a bid to save tyres for the race.

The proposed revisions featured drivers starting races on their Q2 tyres rather than Q3 rubber, extra tyres being provided for Q3 only, and Q1 being reduced from 20 to 18 minutes with Q3 lengthened to 12 minutes so that drivers can all complete two runs.

Those ideas were duly debated during Friday's meeting of F1's Strategy Group and AUTOSPORT has learned that they were approved.

The matter now needs to go to a vote of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council to be ratified before being put into the regulations in time for the Australian Grand Prix.

The support of the governing body will be a formality though, with FIA president Jean Todt having told AUTOSPORT recently that he fully backed the changed.

"It's constructive to have a little review of qualifying. Some people say, 'no we cannot go out in Q3 because we don't have enough tyres,'" he said.

"We are not talking about getting involved in a revolution. By doing a little refinement, a little finetuning, we can get at something [better]."

Teams also discussed potential revisions to the engine homologation regulations, in light of Renault's problems, but these were rejected.

A push by Bernie Ecclestone to expand the controversial double points rule for the final three races of the season, rather than just the season finale, was also voted down.

TheSteve

2014.02.28, 05:01 PM

A very good solution to tire issue in qual three.

All the rule changes and new engines annoy me, not sure the sport still qualifies for the name "F1", but I'm still looking forward to the first race.

cowboysir

2014.02.28, 07:34 PM

I should try to find the interview with Caterham driver Kamui Kobayashi where he flat out says GP2 cars are now faster than F1 cars.

It's a bit sad....

EMU

2014.03.01, 02:25 AM

I do like that qualify change... Now we can really see how fast these cars are on a single lap since they don't have to race on those tires. So, tear them to shreds!!!

So many rule changes, it will be an interesting season to see which teams can adapt the quickest. See which teams make improvements throughout the season, and which teams start strong, and don't develop the car as much through the season. I think Force India may fall into the second category, but I hope they do well. This rule change may have put them solidly near the front, but we will soon see if their pace will sustain over a race distance.

Red Bull will be the team to watch I feel. With all of their problems now, it reminds me of 5/6 years ago. They will probably make the biggest increase of performance throughout the season, because they are nowhere near the front right now from what I have seen... they need to figure out what to do with the Renault engine first. This alone will make it an interesting season, since we will have new front battles, and less Vettel runaway victories.

cowboysir

2014.03.01, 10:08 AM

From Autosport.com:

Felipe Massa set the pace for Williams as the penultimate day of pre-season Formula 1 testing kicked off in Bahrain, while reigning champion team Red Bull suffered another significant setback.

Daniel Ricciardo hailed Red Bull's progress after completing a 20-lap stint and setting the third fastest time during Friday's test, but world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to complete a lap this morning when the RB10 broke down on his installation run.

The team put up extended screens in the pitlane to shield the car from prying eyes as it returned to the pits. Vettel attempted another installation lap later but the car broke down again before it left the pits, so the four-time title winner helped marshals push the RB10 back to the Red Bull garage.

Adrian Sutil's Sauber also broke down on its installation lap at the very start of the test, stopping at the pitlane entrance and requiring fire marshals to attend to the rear of the car.

Force India has set the pace for two consecutive days with Sergio Perez driving, but Nico Hulkenberg fell three quarters of a second short of beating Massa's Williams to top spot on Saturday morning.

Mercedes made a late start after a precautionary engine change for the W05, but Nico Rosberg still clocked 22 laps and set the third fastest time on a set of medium compound Pirelli tyres.

Lotus also made a late start following fire damage caused by an engine failure on Friday for the twin-tusk E22. Romain Grosjean completed 14 laps in the repaired car this morning.

Daniel Kvyat's Toro Rosso, Kevin Magnussen's McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari rounded out the top six in a morning session that came to an early end when Jules Bianchi's Marussia broke down at Turn 2, 10 minutes before the scheduled lunchbreak.

Fernando Alonso completed over 100 laps on Friday, but Raikkonen again found his running limited in the F14 T, managing only nine laps so far.

Marcus Ericcson went seventh fastest for Caterham, clocking the most laps of anyone as he worked through a race simulation for the Leafield team.

Lewis Hamilton lent some credibility to the hype surrounding Mercedes by posting the fastest time in Friday practice at the Australian Grand Prix, as the Formula One season kicked off with teams still struggling with reliability problems.

The 2008 world champion could not finish a lap in the first session due to an oil pressure sensor problem, but topped the timesheets in the second with a lap of one minute 29.625 seconds on a glorious sunny day at Albert Park.

Champions Red Bull, who arrived under a cloud after problems throughout winter testing, also made a promising start and breathed a sigh of relief.

Quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel finished an encouraging fourth on the timesheets, with his new team mate Daniel Ricciardo sixth behind McLaren's Jenson Button.

Hamilton's quickest lap edged out team mate Nico Rosberg by 0.157 seconds as the pace of the two Mercedes' drivers carried on from their strong showing in winter testing.

"I was trying to feel the car. I missed obviously P1 (first practice) which I felt like was a big back-step," Hamilton told reporters in the paddock.

"I'm satisfied with P2...Not the most perfect day but I'm really glad I got some run in P2 and just grateful I got some time to feel the car."

"I've still got a lot to improve on, a lot to find. Otherwise the balance doesn't feel too bad."

Teams struggled to come to terms with the new turbocharged hybrid engines during pre-season, and continued to battle glitches during practice, with drivers cooling their heels for long stretches in the garages, as technicians tinkered frantically.

Excursions onto the track saw plenty of over-steering at corners and skids into the grass as drivers fought to handle the new braking systems, extra torque and reduced downforce of the V6 power units.

Ferrari's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso handled conditions better than most, posting the quickest lap of one minute 31.840 seconds in the first session and finishing third fastest in the second.

His new team mate Kimi Raikkonen, returning to Ferrari after four seasons away, had a low-key start, posting the seventh fastest time in the second session after being rolled back to the garage due to an aborted start at the exit of the pit lane.

German Vettel, bidding for a fifth successive F1 title, was forced to pit quickly in the first session due to a heat problem and survived a skid on the grass in the second but his 51 laps for the day was a third of his total mileage for the winter.

"I'm quite surprised today, both Dan (Ricciardo) and I did a lot of laps so that's very good news, so let's see what tomorrow brings," Vettel said. "I learned a lot today, we're in a much happier place already."

Hamilton was left fuming when his car stopped at turn nine of his installation lap just five minutes into the first session.

With the vehicle hauled off by a tow-truck, the 29-year-old Briton walked back to the paddock without taking his helmet off and suffered the indignity of being stopped by security before retreating into his team's tent.

Brazilian Felipe Massa was 12th fastest for Williams, outshone in his first drive for the British-based team by Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, who was eighth quickest in the second practice.

Lotus, who missed the first test of the season because their car was not ready on time, suffered a black day with only French driver Romain Grosjean able to post a lap time, his best only 18th from 19 cars in the later session.

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen was the best of the three F1 rookies, the Dane ninth fastest in P2.

Kamui Kobayashi's return to F1 with Caterham was forgettable, as both he and his debutant team mate Marcus Ericsson were unable to post a lap time in either session due to reliability issues.

2nd Free Practice Session from the Formula One Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on Friday

I found it hilarious that the dB rating of the Aussie V8 Supercars is higher than the new F1 engines.

You'd be tired too if you had sleepless nights trying to make sure the cars/teams dont embarress themselves and make a full race distance in the 2hr time limit.

Although they look funny they look less funny in motion than the still shots we've seen from preseason.

5 engines for the season....any bets on how many teams use up their first by the end of the AusGP?

TheSteve

2014.03.15, 03:06 AM

Absolutely amazing finish to qualifying. I would have preferred full dry just to see out right pace but that was great stuff!

cowboysir

2014.03.15, 11:37 AM

Full review from Autosport:

Lewis Hamilton claimed the first pole position of the 2014 Formula 1 season in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, while world champion Sebastian Vettel failed even to make Q3.

The Mercedes driver, on wet tyres, knocked Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who was on intermediate rubber, off top spot by three tenths of a second in the final seconds of a rain-hit session.

Nico Rosberg, who had briefly taken first place before Hamilton and Ricciardo improved late on, was third ahead of McLaren's rookie Kevin Magnussen.

Both drivers, as well as fifth-placed Ferrari man Fernando Alonso, set their times on wet rubber with opinion split among the 10 runners as to which tyre compound was preferable.

Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne showed his wet weather prowess with a superb sixth place ahead of Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, both setting their times on intermediates.

Behind the pair was debutant Daniil Kvyat, who impressed despite an off in Q3 on the run between Turns 10 and 11.

He took eighth place on wet rubber, ahead of Williams drivers Felipe Massa (intermediates) and Valtteri Bottas (wets), although the latter must serve a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change before qualifying.

Several of the drivers who failed to advance from Q2 to Q3 were unable to improve thanks to yellow flags caused by Kimi Raikkonen's late crash as rain returned in intermediate conditions.

The Ferrari driver lost the rear at the exit of Turn 3 and spun into the wall, with Vettel among those who were attempting to jump into the top 10 at the time.

With both failing to make the cut in 12th and 13th, Jenson Button made it three world champions to fail to make the top 10 shootout in 11th.

Sauber's Adrian Sutil, Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi and Force India driver Sergio Perez, who ran through the gravel at Turn 2 on his final flying lap, also fell in Q2.

Marussia driver Max Chilton was the fastest of the drivers to be knocked out in Q1, which was effectively ended at a point when most had managed only one run thanks to rain at the halfway mark.

Chilton was just 19 thousandths of a second slower than Kobayashi, who did make the cut but was unable to do better than 15th in the second stage of qualifying.

Chilton's eam-mate Jules Bianchi, Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez (who will be hit with a five-place penalty for a gearbox change) and Caterham rookie Marcus Ericsson were also eliminated in Q1.

Joining them were the two Lotus E22s of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, the latter not able to attempt a lap until the damp conditions late on and having two off-track excursions before aborting his run.
Australian Grand Prix starting grid

1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes

2. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault

3. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes

4. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren

5. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari

6. Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - Renault

7. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes

8. Danill Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault

9. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes

10. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren

11. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari

12. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault

13. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari

14. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham - Renault

15. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes

16. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes

17. Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari

18. Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - Ferrari

19. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham - Renault

20. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Renault

21. Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari

22. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Renault

AutoSport - 2014-03-14, 10:44 PM

Pretty impressive stuff from the rookies today. Both Toro Rosso into Q3 and Kevin Magnussen out qualifying JB.

Riccardo in P2 when Vettel gets P13...my day was made right there.

Very interesting session. Let's hope the race is as interesting.

One sidenote I found out yesterday from the rules...apparently you can carry over grid penalties this year. For example if you qualify 17 with a 10 grid penalty you start 22 and carry over 5 penalty position to the next race.

Super *** IMO.

TheSteve

2014.03.16, 03:59 AM

Exciting start to the race. Was interesting to see two such key drivers out so quickly. Race kind of went down hill from there. In the past I have watched the world feed. I don't have the service that provided that anymore, so I watched the NBC Sports version - sheesh those guys are clueless. They can be entertaining at times but it is hard to tell they are watching the same race I am.

I noticed we were rarely shown any lap times - is that just because the cars are now so slow?
My wife wandered into the room while I was watching and asked why the cars sound so terrible, lol. They remind me of the sound of racing games from the late 90's.

I think Bottas is my driver of the day, would have been nice to have seen Massa except he was probed at high speed before his race really got going.

Overall there is some neat technology in F1, but I honestly believe the sport is going in the wrong direction...

cowboysir

2014.03.16, 09:41 PM

I have to agree with everything you say Steve...i just finished watching the race.

The fastest lap of the race was a full 9 seconds slower than the V10's of 2004 era.:eek:

Good podium but a real shame that RedBull screwed the pooch on his fuel rate flow...a beautiful Aus podium snatched away with a DQ.

Some quality rookies out there for this season with kevin magnussen making his debut with an adjusted 2nd place.

Weird beginning to a full hybrid F1.:confused:

NoBrainer

2014.03.17, 05:40 AM

hihi

I like GT series and that kind of sound, so I had no issue with the sound.
V12 sounds after my opinion better than the V8, but that's pure taste.

I liked the new cars.
Seems to be much more driving now. Much more down to the driver.

But this was the first race and so many did not complete the event so it's a bit too early.
Still looking forward to the rest of the season.

Why would you like V8 better than the BRM v16 1.6L....so I think people just get angry since something is changing.

:D

cowboysir

2014.03.19, 10:40 AM

hihi

I like GT series and that kind of sound, so I had no issue with the sound.
V12 sounds after my opinion better than the V8, but that's pure taste.

I liked the new cars.
Seems to be much more driving now. Much more down to the driver.

But this was the first race and so many did not complete the event so it's a bit too early.
Still looking forward to the rest of the season.

Why would you like V8 better than the BRM v16 1.6L....so I think people just get angry since something is changing.

:D

I'm sorry but in my opinion there's no drama to the sound of the new F1.

Check out RetroF1's compilation of V12, V10 and V8's...with the volume to 11 it made me cry at how much I miss the sound of the Premier Class.

It'll never be the same...I'll watch it but it doesn't mean i have to like it.

http://bit.ly/1eRsH7d

cowboysir

2014.03.28, 11:20 AM

From Autosport.com:

Mercedes' early season strength was again evident with German Nico Rosberg going fastest in Friday's second practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix as a number of Formula One teams suffered teething problems on a tricky day.

Rosberg, who won the season opening race in Australia two weeks ago, clocked a best time of one minute, 39.909 seconds in the second session at a steamy, slippy Sepang circuit, where track temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius, testing the cooling systems on the new V6 turbo engines to the max.

Rosberg's team mate Lewis Hamilton had clocked the best time of 1:40.691 in the opening session despite sliding off the track earlier on Friday, but the Briton was only fourth in the second with a 1:40.051 after more grip issues.

The 2008 world champion complained on the team radio after his first venture into the gravel that the circuit was "like driving on marbles" with less downforce and more torque and power on the new cars taking some getting used to.

Kimi Raikkonen was second quickest on Friday for Ferrari with a best time just 0.035 seconds back of Rosberg, with team mate Fernando Alonso fifth with a 1:40.103.

The Spanish double world champion had led the timesheets in the opening half of the first session before making an error and spinning at turn eight and then concentrated on system and balance checks as his times slipped back.

World champion Sebastian Vettel was third quickest in the second session with a best time of 1:39.970 seconds but Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Skysports that the team were having problems with a fuel sensor that required changing.

Fuel flow rates had led to Vettel's team mate Daniel Ricciardo being disqualified from his home grand prix in Melbourne last week, a verdict the team have appealed.

The Australian was seventh quickest in the second session on Friday and ended the day by taking a run over the grass.

He was behind Felipe Massa of Williams who also took a spin at turn eight, like his former Ferrari team mate Alonso, while Sauber's Adrian Sutil, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso also had similar spin issues.

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen had an up-and-down day with his car stopping on the track at turn 15 in the opening session before the Danish rookie bemoaned oversteering in the second as he finished down the grid.

It was nothing compared to the problems of Lotus, however, with Pastor Maldonado not even making it out for the second session after engineers worked on his car which billowed smoke in the opening 90 minute run before he could register a time.

Romain Grosjean's Lotus faired little better with his car stopping at turn 10 also without him setting a lap before his second session was interrupted by another problem with his team telling him to bring the car back to the garage in second gear.

Japan's Kamui Kobayashi was also absent in the second session because of electronic control issues in his Caterham, while Max Chilton also missed most of the precious running time after going off the track after only six minutes.

cowboysir

2014.03.28, 11:41 AM

There's been a lot of whining from RedBull about the fuel flow sensors yet again at Sepang. After the disqualification in Australia for ignoring the FIAs warnings on exceeding the fuel rate they've spent FP1 and 2 gathering data that says the fuel sensor doesn't give accurate readings (apparently a difference of 0.25% total).:rolleyes:

The biggest problem I have with their whining is that if all the teams are having this issue with a difference in fuel rate readings then essentially all the teams are functioning at the same level...to choose to ignore the FIA and pick your own flow rate (however correct it may be) is gaining an unfair advantage over the teams choosing to follow the FIA readings.

If RedBull get their way in this dispute I'm going to seriously watch the rest of the season with the belief that the sports drink company is bullying their way to another championship. No one was fooled last year when their chassis improved by over a second after the tire spec reverted to a caliber they could really lean on (with huge success from the previous year). If they get to change the rules by complaining about it yet again it'll raise serious doubts about the "sporting" aspect of the sporting regs of F1 and believe politics drive F1 more than anything else.

Rant over. :D

PS: for those who try and retort "Ferrari had their way like that for years" I'll have to reply that in some cases you are correct but the FIA made Firmula changes to break that favoritism cycle and obviously it's worked. To revert back to picking a favorite team....:(

kyoshosan

2014.03.28, 04:11 PM

Hi Cowboysir,

Not sure if you saw or follow this YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI8cTdQxMZ0&feature=share&list=PL84C1DBD7EF2CD3DE&index=1

Nice review on the F1 RedBull disqualification on the Australian GP. Good job Keeping up this thread :D

Cheers!

cowboysir

2014.03.29, 08:17 PM

From Autosport:

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was delighted to make it two poles in two races after emerging unscathed from an incident-packed and rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying at Sepang.

The Briton saw off Red Bull's quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel by 0.055 of a second in a session with two red flags, a 50 minute rain delay and more downpours throughout that left drivers struggling for visibility.

The pole was the 33rd of Hamilton's career, equalling the British record held by the late Jim Clark since 1964, and was secured in a time of one minute 59.431 seconds.

"I'm really happy with how well we've done over the weekend, but today was incredible, how heavy was the rain?" Hamilton said.

"It was tricky out there for everyone because at the end it was almost impossible to see. I couldn't see where the track went, where the corners were, where to break.

"I had to bail out of my final fast lap, so it was very close...

The Mercedes driver moved to the top of the timesheets early on before pitting for fresh tyres, but his final run was ruined when he ran off the track after finding it tricky to see in the wet.

That meant his first run was his best lap, and he claimed that it was nowhere near as good as he could have done.

"For the first lap in Q3, we have to be a little bit more within the limit to make sure you definitely get a lap in, just in case you have something like I have happens or there is a yellow flag," said Hamilton.

"But the most important thing is to get a banker lap, maybe eke out a bit more time. But it doesn't matter. I got what I needed out of it."

Hamilton said his last run did not come together because of the visibility issues and some time lost stuck in Nico Hulkenberg's spray.

"It was very difficult to see - that was the trickiest part particularly at the end," he said.

"I was stuck behind Hulkenberg who slowed down on his lap. I thought he was coming in, and he looked like he was coming in because he went wide on the final turn, but as I got to start the lap he came across so I was stuck behind him.

"I couldn't see a thing as it was like driving through thick fog. And that was the lap that I needed and I should have had to really get pole. So I am so glad or happy that the lap I did before was good enough."

[POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE - READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT]

Vettel's lap was an impressive turnaround for the German, who retired in Melbourne two weeks ago, after he was called back to the pits after only three laps of the first phase of qualifying with an energy store problem.

The champion re-emerged after a reset of the system and became progressively competitive as the rain grew stronger and felt he could have taken pole had he been able to get in another lap in the final 15 minute session.

"At the beginning of Q1 (the first phase), the heartbeat was rising very quickly when we realised there was an issue," Vettel said.

"Q3 was not perfect. I would have loved to have a second go. My first attempt, I felt there was time to gain here and there.

"It was very close, too close. I should be on the good side for tomorrow but it depends on how good the start is. I'm happy with the result."

Hamilton's Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, winner in Australia, will start from third place with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso joining him on the second row despite an earlier collision with Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso that required hurried repairs.

Alonso was on the outside and turned into Kvyat with the incident reviewed by stewards, who opted against any penalty.

"I didn't see him coming, Obviously it was a little bit of an aggressive move on the out-lap with that sort of visibility," the double world champion Spaniard said.

cowboysir

2014.03.30, 11:34 PM

Lewis Hamilton led from start to finish in Sepang as he completed a perfect weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Hamilton cruised to victory, leading from pole to podium and enjoying a sizeable 17.3-second margin over the field.

It was his first win since Hungary last year - and, with team-mate Nico Rosberg finishing second, Mercedes secured their first one-two since 1955.

Speaking on the podium after the race, Hamilton dedicated the victory to the victims and families of the Malaysian Airlines plane which went missing three weeks ago.

Sebastian Vettel's third-place finish gave Red Bull some comfort on a disappointing afternoon for the team after Daniel Ricciardo had to withdraw three laps from the end.

Ricciardo had started very well, slotting into fourth place behind his team-mate and looking set to push him all the way, but technical problems were his undoing: a tyre was not affixed correctly following a pit stop, resulting in a ten-second stop-go penalty, and then he suffered a puncture courtesy of a broken wing.
That left Fernando Alonso clear to sneak a fourth-place finish in his Ferrari, with Nico Hulkenberg taking fifth for Force India after his team-mate Sergio Perez failed to start due to a technical problem.

Jenson Button took sixth for McLaren, and after an intriguing duel which saw Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas took seventh and eighth respectively for Williams .

The race had been preceded by a minute's silence in memory of missing plane MH370. After the race, Hamilton spoke to guest presenter Benedict Cumberbatch, star of TV's Sherlock, and told him: "After such a tragedy three weeks ago, I'd like to dedicate this to those people and their families."

My opinion:

Boring as sh!7!!!!!

TheSteve

2014.03.30, 11:58 PM

Yeppers, I suspect we will see more of that this year as well.

and I still think they cars sound like crap. I want some angry sounds in my racing series. I think my real car is louder then F1 now.

cowboysir

2014.03.31, 09:52 AM

My biggest hope was that the change in Formula would make it so we'd have some challenge at the front...getting some races for the lead instead of a team checking out is what F1 needed more than anything.

I hope other teams can catch up.

On a sidenote, very happy Massa asserted himself over his teammate near the end of race. He must've had a flash to his previous career when they asked him to move for Bottas and said "F that!" Good on ya, Massa!!!

On another sidenote, the new graphic telling us fuel consumption really burns me up...are there really race viewers of the Premier Class of Motorsport so absorbed in the new age of hybrid tech that they need to tell us that a certain racer used 94.7% of his fuel allotment for the GP?!

Let's have a little wake up call:

22cars per GP using 40kg less fuel per race over a 19 race calendar...good for them (pat on the back all around)

Transport for team, equipment and private jets for management racers etc to get to exclusive 19 race venues is the real fuel burner in F1... Don't think for a second we're falling for your b@@@, Bernie.

cowboysir

2014.04.03, 10:40 AM

From Autosport:

Luca di Montezemolo and Bernie Ecclestone plan to meet with Jean Todt during the Bahrain GP to discuss potential changes that could improve the spectacle of Formula 1.

AUTOSPORT has learned that Ferrari boss di Montezemolo is unimpressed with the new fuel-efficiency regulations in the sport, and flew to a meeting with Ecclestone in London on Wednesday to kick-start urgent discussions about what can be done to make things better.

Sources with knowledge of the situation suggest that both men are in agreement that the first two races of the season have not produced the kind of dramatic racing that some had believed would come with the new 1.6-litre turbo engines.

Both races have been won in dominant fashion by the early race leader, and there has not been as much overtaking and strategic variety as some had hoped.

One insider suggests that di Montezemolo has labelled the current spectacle as simply an 'economy run', with drivers no longer able to push to the maximum because of the way they are restricted on fuel flow and fuel capacity.

That stances backs up comments he made in Italy last month that F1's new complicated rules had taken away some of the racing excitement.

"I don't like his sort of taxi-cab driving," he was quoted as saying by Autosprint.

"What I don't like is this complexity in the interpretation of the race, both from the drivers' and the spectators' point of view."

Di Montezemolo and Ecclestone have asked Todt for talks in Bahrain this weekend to discuss the matter, and ponder what, if anything, can be done.

They are keen for some blue-sky thinking on the situation, although are well aware that the sport must not divert from the new hybrid technology path it has taken.

However, changes to the sporting regulations - whether it be through fuel-flow meters or new ways of using the engines - could be enough to improve matters.

CONCERNS NOT NEW

Although some may view di Montezemolo's concerns about the state of F1 as a response to Ferrari's disappointing start to the campaign, insiders have revealed that the Maranello-based team has long questioned the impact the new regulations will have on the racing.

AUTOSPORT has learned that last season, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali met with Ecclestone to discuss progress on the new regulations, and expressed worries that the spectacle could be damaged if drivers were more focused on fuel economy than driving.

The debate about the racing has come on the back of an initial focus on the sound of the new turbo engines, although Ecclestone said in Malaysia last weekend that the new power units did not sound as bad in real life as he had been expecting.

Not all teams are so concerned about the situation, though.

McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis said at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that he felts the rules needed a couple of races to bed down.

"I think we should give it a little bit more time to settle down before we are too critical of it," he said.

"I think there are always going to be people who have negative observations. That is inevitable."

AutoSport - Jonathan Noble - 2014-04-03, 2:49 AM

It's an interesting situation:

As a fan of F1 since the late 80's, the start to this season doesn't seem too much different to me. In my mind, I can only think of one season in the recent seasons where one team hasn't dominated the start and technologically speaking wasn't more advanced than the others.

That being said, I think the main reason this year is lacking any real drama (so far at least) isn't only about a dominant team checking out at the front but the fuel saving driving that must be done to complete a GP.

A prime example: take a look back at the qualifying and lap records for most of the long term tracks and you'll find most of them were posted in 2004-05...it's no surprise that these were in the V10-V8 crossover years and teams had refuelling and a tire war.

It's my view that F1 has progressed to a point where the spectacle is lacking because of these so called monetary savings measures.

I'll be composing my views on what I'd like to see differently...not that these ideas would ever happen but as a fan they're some things that could make a GP better.

cowboysir

2014.04.04, 10:30 AM

Some good news?(from Eurosport):

Formula One great Michael Schumacher is showing "moments of consciousness" after months in a coma and is "making progress", says his agent.

Schumacher suffered a ski accident 14 weeks ago and is in the waking up process after being placed in a medically-induced coma, with Sabine Kehm offering an encouraging update regarding his condition.

"Michael is making progress on his way," said Kehm in a statement. "He shows moments of consciousness and awakening. We are on his side during his long and difficult fight, together with the team of the hospital in Grenoble, and we keep remaining confident.

"We would like to thank you all for the continuous sympathies. At the same time we again ask for understanding that we do not intend to disclose details.

"This is necessary to protect the privacy of Michael and his family, and to enable the medical team to work in full calmness."

Schumacher remains unable to breathe on his own and is on a ventilator. Doctors began the process of gradually awakening him more than nine weeks ago.

He is receiving round-the-clock care in intensive care in Grenoble University Hospital.

Wife Corinna, 45 - with whom he has two children Gina Marie, 16, and Mick, 14 - has remained at his bedside.

Meanwhile, a family friend has insisted that the legendary driver will be moved to a rehabilitation facility, but not one at his home, as has been previously claimed.

The friend rubbished reports that his wife Corinna is spending £10 million to build a medically-equipped suite at their home in Switzerland because doctors have warned her that his chances of a full recovery are negligible.

“Michael will be moved to a rehabilitation clinic at some stage, however not at this stage,” the friend said. “We are confident Michael will wake up. Therefore why would we need to build facilities for a vegetative man at his home?

“This would imply that his case is hopeless.”

The seven-times world champion remains in intensive care in Grenoble Hospital in France, but his family remains “confident” he will wake from his coma, according to Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s manager and agent.

She added that there was no truth in reports that Schumacher’s family were building the medical facility at their home, or indeed his father’s new apartment.

“Rumours saying that Corinna is rebuilding her house in order to take the allegedly hopeless case Michael back home are absolutely untenable,” Kehm said.

“This counts too for Rolf’s house which is being built at the Schumacher’s site.”

Eurosport - 2014-04-04, 3:10 AM

cowboysir

2014.04.04, 09:23 PM

FP1 and 2 from Bahrain:

What else can say other than Mercedes is gonna check out at the front again? They were a full second faster than Alonso in P3 both sessions.

F-ing sucks.

I had a couple thoughts about the spectacle of F1 and how to improve it. When I have more time I'll sit and put it together here. It's not like anyone would listen to me as a fan but it'd be cool to discuss among like minded fans who think the new Formula is lacking.

cowboysir

2014.04.05, 08:15 AM

Some interesting answers from Adrian Newey that I've always held in my mind about Hybrid Tech:

Adrian Newey has made clear his dissatisfaction with the 2014 rules – and questioned the green credentials of the new technology.

The Red Bull technical director was initially asked how he compared the current cars to those of the past.

“That’s a very complicated question is the truthful answer to that,” he said. “I guess the other obvious answer to that is probably whether you have a Mercedes engine, a Ferrari engine or a Renault engine will cloud your answer to it, in truth. Such is the nature of Formula One.

“When you get into things like batteries then an electric car is only green if it gets its power from a green source. If it gets its power from a coal-fired power station, then clearly it’s not green at all. A hybrid car, which is effectively what the Formula One regulations are, then a lot of energy goes into manufacturing those batteries and into the cars, which is why they’re so expensive. And whether that then gives you a negative or a positive carbon footprint or not depends on the duty cycle of the car – how many miles does it do, is it cruising along the motorway at constant speed or stop-starting in a city.

“So this concept that a hybrid car is automatically green is a gross simplification. On top of that there are other ways, if you’re going to put that cost into a car, to make it fuel efficient. You can make it lighter, you can make it more aerodynamic, both of which are things that Formula One is good at. For instance the cars are 10 per cent heavier this year, a result, directly, of the hybrid content.

“So I think technically, to be perfectly honest, it’s slightly questionable. From a sporting point of view, to me, efficiency, strategy etc, economy of driving, is very well placed for sportscars, which is a slightly different way of going racing. Formula One should be about excitement. It should be about man and machine performing at its maximum every single lap.”

Newey said it wasn’t easy to judge why public reaction to the new rules has been negative.

“It’s a big subject and I guess ultimately the spectators and the television viewers are going to vote with their feet. The old classic [was] Coke completely turning Coke around compared to Pepsi in the States, so you can always skin these things various ways.

“I think obviously all the talk is about the engines. It’s not just about creating a formula which looks at how many litres of fuel you use per kilometre with everything else fixed, because everything else isn’t fixed in reality. If you go into the real world, cost isn’t fixed, the cost has gone up hugely to create this. As I said before, if you put that cost into weight saving, you might be better off in many cases so to automatically say that this is some huge benefit for mankind I think is taking a bit of a big leap myself.”

Newey also had some interesting comments about the relative performance of 2014 power units: “I think when we talk about the power unit we talk about it by manufacturer. We should also include the fuel company of course. I think you’ll find within an engine, depending on what fuel it uses there can be very significant differences. That can also create differences.

“We certainly can see that in our own GPS analysis between our rivals that some appear to have significantly more power than others, even though they have the same engine. At the moment I think it is an engine formula that has tended to reshape the grid more than anything else, compared to last year. How that develops as we move forward is unclear.”

cowboysir

2014.04.06, 01:09 PM

So we've been given the answer as to what's needed to get some thrilling racing...give us a safety car and no team orders!

Besides the absolute domination of the front by Mercedes (24 sec lead even after 10 laps from the final safety car) there was very nice passing through the field.

Awesome result for Force India! Very nicely done holding off Riccardo in the last couple laps.

Something has to be done about Maldonado. What an incredible lack of forethought and sending Gutierrez into a flipping twisting spin/crash.

Overall I enjoyed it. I hope to see some power improvement for Ferrari and some better luck for Williams.

cowboysir

2014.04.06, 01:32 PM

SkysportF1:

After a build-up to the race dominated by debates and arguments in the paddock by some of F1's most influential figures over the sport's controversial new era of quieter engines and fuel efficiency, the thrilling action served up over the course over the 57 laps of racing around a floodlit Sakhir provided the first contrary evidence suggesting perhaps not too much is wrong with the sport's 'rules reset' after all.

On Sky Sports

F1 Midweek Report
9th April
April 9, 2014 8:30pm

Get a Sky Sports Day PassUpgrade to Sky Sports
In a race characterised by wheel-to-wheel duels between team-mates, Hamilton seized the lead from polesitter Rosberg into the first corner and then just about held on to the chequered flag despite several periods of concerted pressure from the sister Mercedes.

Despite the close nature of their combat, first on laps 17-18 when Rosberg twice briefly retook the lead only for Hamilton to swipe back in front and then late on after a Safety Car had wiped out Hamilton's mid-race advantage, the two W05s just about kept stayed clear of contact and Hamilton eventually took the chequered flag by exactly one second to secure his first consecutive wins since 2010.

Rosberg, with two second places since his season-opening victory in Melbourne, still holds the championship lead, but Hamilton has closed the deficit to 11 points and, with two victories over his team-mate inside a week, perhaps gained the early psychological edge in what is currently an exclusive battle for honours at the front of the field.

Rosberg edged ahead on several occasions - but couldn't hold on
But while the two Mercedes drivers, as expected, were in a race of their own, the action behind was equally as thrilling as several other pairs of team-mates probably caused their respective pitwalls no end of angst.

That was certainly the case at Force India as Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, recovering from his Q2 exit on Saturday, waged their own duel for much of the race for third place. The scrap was eventually won by Perez as the Mexican, after a near anonymous start to 2014, secured just Force India's second podium finish - and their first since 2009.

Hulkenberg eventually finished two places behind his team-mate in fifth after he was overtaken by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo late on, the Australian making up for a succession of disappointments at the start of the season to finally officially register his first points for the World Champions with fourth.

Not only did the Australian recover from his 13th-place grid position, he overtook quadruple World Champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel for the position late on, the German complaining over the radio of a lack of straight-line speed from his RB10.

The Williams pair had, for much of the race, run higher up the order - largely thanks to a storming start from Felipe Massa while vaulted the Brazilian behind the Mercedes pair into Turn One.

A delighted Sergio Perez won the 'race' behind the Mercedes'
But with the FW36 experiencing higher tyre wear to the cars ahead which necessitated that both drivers stopped three times, Massa and Valtteri Bottas eventually came home in seventh and eighth respectively.

As in Malaysia, the pair finished less than a second apart, but after the team orders row of seven days ago, Williams appeared to wisely let their drivers race to the chequered flag this time.

Completing the near-'Noah's Ark' nature of the top ten, Ferrari pair Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen came home ninth and tenth respectively. On the day the team's President Luca di Montezemolo arrived in the paddock to air his grievances over the sport's new era, the result provided more depressing evidence for the Scuderia that its a formula they are a long way from mastering.

TheSteve

2014.04.06, 02:06 PM

Some seriously intense battles today. Nico may be leading in the drivers points race but I see Lewis overtaking him in the coming races.

And that was one heck of a scary crash, If Gutierrez is ok for the next race it shows just how protected the drivers are.

cowboysir

2014.04.08, 09:06 PM

I was happy to find out there will 4x2 day tests during the season:

Mercedes continued its dominance of Formula 1 in Bahrain, as Nico Rosberg set the pace on the first of two days of post-race testing at the Sakhir circuit.

The German, who finished runner-up to team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Sunday's race, posted a best time of 1m35.667s to finish on the top of the times.

Rosberg was also the busiest man on track with 121 laps completed.

The Mercedes driver's best lap was over 2.5 seconds slower than his pole position time for last weekend's race. He was also the only man to break the 1m36s barrier.

Nico Hulkenberg put the Mercedes-powered Force India in second place, finishing nearly four tenths of a second behind his compatriot.

Fernando Alonso was third quickest and the first man in a non-Mercedes-powered car. The Ferrari driver managed 67 laps on his first day of work and finished nearly a second off Rosberg's pace.

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen finished fourth and was the only other driver to complete over 100 laps during the day.

Valtteri Bottas rounded up the top five for Williams. The Finn covered only 28 laps, but the team said it had completed its programme successfully.

"The results were very positive and we collected a lot of good data, which is good news. Valtteri also did a good job for us today," said head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley.

Bahrain F1 test gallery

World champion Red Bull finished down in seventh position with Daniel Ricciardo at the wheel, the Australian managing 91 laps and finishing behind the Marussia of Max Chilton.

Sauber's Sergey Sirotkin was the quickest of the non-race drivers in eighth, outpacing fellow tester Robin Frijns in the Caterham, which today was the team in charge of carrying out testing duties for Pirelli.

Frijns' day, however, came to an early finish after he was hit by a hydraulic system leak that the team could not fix in time to return to the track.

"There's not much I can say about the tyres we were running today as they're obviously development sets and because it was a Pirelli test today we weren't aware of what compounds we were running," said Frijns.

Lotus had another difficult day of testing, with Pastor Maldonado managing just 16 laps due to power unit-related issues.

"Of course, this is frustrating for everyone involved, but our focus is now very much on getting the most we can out of tomorrow," said Lotus's trackside operations director Alan Permane.

Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat was slowest but still labelled it a productive day for the team.

AutoSport - 2014-04-08,

cowboysir

2014.04.15, 09:14 AM

Gene Haas to enter F1:

Gene Haas has spoken at length about his F1 plans for the first time since the FIA granted him an entry.

Haas was accompanied at a press conference by Guenther Steiner, who will be team principal of the Haas Formula organisation.

Haas explained that the driving force behind the team was to promote his machine tool business worldwide, with a view to doubling sales. However he also said that the plan is for the team to become a “profitable enterprise” in five years.

Intriguingly the conference created as many questions as it answered, with Haas admitting that he doesn’t yet know if the team will make its debut in 2015 or 2016. He said a final decision would be made in four weeks.

“I would like to do 2015, simply because the first year is going to be a difficult year no matter what happens,” said Haas. “It’s a very big challenge and part of that learning curve is just simply getting to the track and sorting out the logistics of going from race to race, and the sooner we learn that, the sooner we’ll be done with that.

“It’s one of those things that we’re going to find out in the next few weeks, and hopefully in the next four weeks we should have an idea which year we’re going to pursue.”

Later he said: “2015 is too close, 2016 is too far.”

What he did make clear was that as expected he will rely heavily on a technical partner. However, he insisted that there was still a choice to be made between Ferrari and Mercedes, despite the Italian team being the clear favourite since news of the Haas entry bid first emerged. Intriguingly one source told this blog that Toto Wolff has already declined a request for technical support from Haas.

“It’s going to take us a while to learn, and we’re going to lean heavily on our technical partner to help us,” he said.

Rule changes that relax the restrictions on sharing of technology mean that from 2015 Haas could buy virtually everything it needs from an existing team – and in essence would only need to own the IP of its chassis and bodywork. Haas even used the phrase “customer car” at one point.

He also admitted that there was a good chance that Dallara would be in the mix as the supplier of the chassis, a job it did for HRT in 2010.

He also confirmed that a “campus” in Kannapolis would be the main base for the F1 team, alongside the NASCAR operation, but there would also be a facility in Europe.

“Ideally the main office will be here in Kannapolis. There may be a smaller office in Italy or Germany for assembly and disassembly of cars. It will depend upon who our technology partner ultimately is. That would be the logistics we would use. Nothing is cast in stone yet, we’re going to be flexible at it, we’re going to do what it takes, and we’re going to be efficient at it.”

He said that his Windshear wind tunnel was one of his biggest assets, but admitted it would have to be converted to run scale models given FIA restrictions on full size running.

Regarding drivers he said: “Ideally what we would like is to have an experienced F1 driver, probably someone who is familiar with the current engine package rules. Then going forward we would certainly like to have a young American driver, that would be the ideal situation. At the moment we haven’t really narrowed it down. We’ve had quite a few people talk to us.”

On the subject pf potential designers, Steiner said: “We’re in contact with people, but also we just got the license last week, and until you’ve got the license you can’t emply anybody and nobody would come and work for you if they don’t know if you’ve got a license in the future.

cowboysir

2014.04.15, 09:18 AM

Stefano Dominicalli to step down as Ferrari F1 manager:

Stefano Domenicali has resigned as team principal of Ferrari in the wake of the disappointing start to the team’s 2014 season.

He will be replaced by high flying Ferrari road car executive Marco Mattiacci, who will be in China next weekend.

Ferrari said: “On receiving Stefano Domenicali’s resignation, Ferrari thanks him for the dedication he brought to his service to the company, in positions of ever increasing responsibility over the past 23 years. It offers Stefano Domenicali its most sincere best wishes for the future.”

Mattiacci worked at Jaguar/Ford before joining Ferrari in 1999. He quickly rose up the ranks to become President and CEO of Ferrari Asia Pacific in June 2006, before taking the same role at Ferrari North America in May 2010. He is clearly highly regarded within the Ferrari camp.

Domenicali’s decision came after discussions with Luca di Montezemolo, who recently extended his own contract as Ferrari president for another three years.

Montezemolo said in a statement: “I thank Stefano Domenicali not only for his ongoing contribution and commitment, but for the great sense of responsibility that has demonstrated today by putting the interest of the Ferrari ahead of his own.”

The 48-year-old Domenicali joined the company in 1991 on the administration side. He became F1 team manager in 1997 and later had the title of sporting director, before he followed Jean Todt into the team principal role.

Domenicali’s future is not year clear, although he is highly respected in the motor sport world and would have little trouble finding a new role. He has been linked with Audi in the past.

cowboysir

2014.04.15, 09:21 AM

And the best F1 news of all:

The FIA Court of Appeal has rejected the Red Bull Formula 1 team's appeal against Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix.

The Australian's car was found to have "consistently" exceeded the maximum permitted fuel-flow rate of 100kg/h but despite Red Bull arguing during Monday's hearing that this was not the case, the exclusion stands.

"The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, decided to uphold the Decision #56 of the Stewards by which they decided to exclude Infiniti Red Bull Racing's car #3 from the results of the 2014 Australian Grand Prix," said an FIA statement.

TheSteve

2014.04.15, 12:38 PM

And the million dollar question - will Brawn end up at Ferrari again? I think he should stick with retirement as hoisting Ferrari up to a world championship is going to be extremely difficult.

cowboysir

2014.04.15, 02:34 PM

The guy who replaces Dominicalli at Ferrari (name escapes me ATM) was the CEO of Ferrari sales Asia...:eek:

Even worse is he has no F1 experience.

TheSteve

2014.04.15, 02:40 PM

The guy who replaces Dominicalli at Ferrari (name escapes me ATM) was the CEO of Ferrari sales Asia...:eek:

Even worse is he has no F1 experience.

Exactly, which makes me wonder if they have something else in mind and just needed a place holder.

cowboysir

2014.04.15, 07:27 PM

Wanna place bets now?

I call Martin Whitmarsh. He'd be my pick for a principal with vast experience who got the raw end of the deal during the McLaren shakeup. If Ferrari can't convince Ross Brawn to come out of retirement (which would have to be a huge payday to do so) Whitmarsh would be the next best choice.

cowboysir

2014.04.19, 11:48 AM

Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

The Briton's best time of one minute 53.860 seconds through rain and spray was a hefty 0.595 of a second quicker than Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who joined him on the front row.

"It is so slippery out there, the conditions - trying to find the grip, not making mistakes on your lap and really putting it together," said Hamilton, who will be chasing his third win in a row on Sunday.

"It was a tough session. I really enjoyed it. The car was feeling great. I hope that we can follow through tomorrow."

It was Hamilton's third pole in four races this season and 34th of his F1 career, pushing the 29-year-old past the late Jim Clark's British record that he equalled in Malaysia last month.

He is now fourth on the all-time pole list led by Michael Schumacher with 68.

Red Bull's quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, but more than a second slower than Hamilton and outqualified by team mate Ricciardo for the third time in four races.

Championship leader Nico Rosberg, who had been on pole in the previous Bahrain Grand Prix, completed the second row for Mercedes after running wide on his second lap and then spinning on his final flying lap.

The German will have his work cut out on Sunday if he is to win at the scene of his maiden grand prix triumph in 2012.

"I was just struggling on the brakes and that's why my last sector was so bad. The braking was really difficult and that's a pity," said Rosberg.

"It was just trying a little bit too hard but in the end I was slower anyway on that last lap. I just had to give it a go on the last corner and see if I could somehow magically pull back a little bit of time and it didn't quite work out.

"It didn't really change much. In the end I just wasn't quick enough in general."

Ricciardo, whose team lost their appeal earlier in the week against his exclusion from second place in Australia, bounced back in Red Bull's best combined qualifying effort of a difficult season so far.

The Australian, impressive since joining from Toro Rosso at the end of last year, found a chunk of time late in the final part of qualifying after having trailed the German during the first two sessions.

"Alrighty, there wasn't anything left in that," the 24-year-old said to his team over the radio on his lap into the pits.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, last year's winner in China, qualified fifth with new team boss Marco Mattiacci looking on from the pit wall after watching Friday's sessions from the garage.

"Some of the steps that we brought here seem to confirm a positive result so we move a little bit in the right direction. We know that it's not enough but it's the first step," said Alonso.

"We know that Mercedes probably is out of reach in dry conditions but hopefully with Red Bull we are not too far. I don't know if we can be faster than them or not but hopefully not 30 seconds behind them any more."

However, it was a day of mixed fortunes for the sport's glamour team with Kimi Raikkonen failing to make it through to the top 10 shootout after struggling for grip all session long.

Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa qualified sixth for Williams, who had Valtteri Bottas seventh with both hoping to move up in the race.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg lines up eighth, with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne ninth in the Toro Rosso ahead of compatriot Romain Grosjean, who gave Lotus their best qualifying result so far this season in 10th.

Grosjean's Venezuelan team mate Pastor Maldonado did not take part in qualifying due to problems related to the Renault power unit. He had been due to take a five place grid penalty anyway for causing a collision in Bahrain.

Neither McLaren driver made it through to the final phase of qualifying, with Jenson Button 12th and Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen 15th.

"I didn't know what to expect really. It's been a strange year in terms of the car in the wet. Normally we're very good in the wet but now we're struggling for grip out there," commented Button.

"It's tough in these conditions. I really do hope it's dry tomorrow."

Eurosport - 2014-04-19, 12:13 AM

TheSteve

2014.04.20, 05:21 AM

Quote of the race "tough luck".

Speaking of Seb, had he let Daniel go by right away there is a decent chance he would have gotten third instead of forth...

cowboysir

2014.04.20, 12:11 PM

Mercedes checks out, Rosberg gets into second and Alonso keeps third by a hair.

Boring as ****, I'd have to say...well paced by Hamilton and Mercedes but no drama other than the start.

shame about Massas first pitstop. :mad:

Funny mixup at the end: the chequered flag gets waved on lap 54 by accident so the results stand from there. Kobayashis pass into turn 13 doesn't count. :(

I am buoyed by Ferrari improvement...let's hope the Euro rounds show some battle at the top step

cowboysir

2014.05.09, 10:03 AM

Spanish GP FP2:

No surprises really...Merc leading the way with Riccardo in P3. The only cars within .5sec of each other.

Vettel could not run in fp2 due to an electrical problem that caused a full teardown.

Everyone else seems to be struggling with grip levels...Ferrari seems to be the main team if the top 10 that can't seem to find the connection between front and rear grip.

FYI the cars are 4.5 sec slower than last years V8

cowboysir

2014.05.11, 12:37 PM

So what started as a real yawner turned into a real nail biter!

The 2 Mercs were the class of the field yet again (lapping all the way to pass 7th) but with a difference in strategy Rosberg made a real good attempt of stealing the win from Hamilton. With 4 wins and one non finish Hamilton now takes the lead of the drivers championship by 1 point.

RedBull get Riccardo into 3rd and snake Vettel through the field from 15th up to 4th. They certainly made a 3 stop work for the World Champ.

Bottas takes a seasons matching best of 5th.

Ferrari sucks balls yet again with 6th and 7th but it was nice to see some inter team racing from them for a change.

Stay tuned for testing results from this week in Catalunya.

TheSteve

2014.05.24, 02:41 PM

Rossberg did it on purpose!!!

cowboysir

2014.05.24, 07:33 PM

...adn Hamilton is a baby for crying to the F1 cops. Rosberg was given no penalty....

Probably won't watch the race until i get back from the GTG tomorrow...Monaco doesn't usually make for a "racing" circuit so much as its a "strategy" circuit. That and the feed i get doesnt show enough in car footage (which is the only exciting thing about Monaco).

cowboysir

2014.07.02, 09:48 AM

http://bit.ly/1z75BG9:D

briankstan

2014.07.07, 10:54 AM

works better like this. http://bit.ly/1z75BG9

that is so true, I love the last part

‘Bernie did so many things to change this sport,’ said one team boss. ‘I just can’t believe he’s going to continue doing those things for the foreseeable future.’

As a mark of respect, all profits from this weekend’s British Grand Prix will be given directly to the Ecclestone family, as usual.